A few weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon I recieved a phone call from one of my real estate agent friends (yes I answered the phone on Sunday). His buyer had been pre-approved by a different mortgage lender but the lender had failed to explain to his client the difference between down payment and closing costs when buying ahome.

The buyer was using a FHA Loan and thought since the seller agreed to pay all closing costs, she did not need money at closing. To her suprise she was going to be short a few thousand dollars to cover the required minimum down payment for FHA Loans, which three and a half percent of the sales price.

They needed a solution and fast so they would not lose the contract on their desired home. The agent called to see if they could use grant money for down payment.

My answer was absolutely, if you are able to be approved for FHA Loan and have a credit score above 640 with income less than or equal to $125,580 the grant funds are a perfect fit, if short on cash. In a high cost area such as Woodbridge, Virginia saving for a down payment can delay homeownership for quite a while.

We approved the buyer and soon after the appraisal value of the home came back at $29,000 higher than the sales price.